Parasite Prevention

Flea, Tick and Heartworm Prevention for Cats & Dogs

Flea Prevention

* If your cat or dog is infested with fleas at the time of surgery, we reserve the right to use a one-time topical flea prevention in order to safely perform the surgical procedure. If this occurs, the price for a single dose of flea prevention will be added to your invoice when you arrive to pick up your pet.

Fleas cause tapeworms in animals, which can lead to some very serious health concerns. Fleas also make your pet itchy, can cause skin problems, and can get in your house and bite you and your family. Getting rid of fleas once they are in your home can be very costly. It is recommended that all animals, indoor and out, be kept on year-round flea prevention.

Heartworm Prevention for Dogs

Cats and dogs obtain heartworms from the bites of mosquitoes. Even if you have an indoor animal, mosquitoes can get into your house and bite your pets. It is very important that you keep all of your pets on heartworm prevention all year round. Heartworms can be a fatal disease. It costs only a few dollars a month to prevent, but can cost thousands to treat!

Dogs must have a current negative heartworm test in order to receive heartworm prevention. This can be done at our clinic on the day of your appointment.

Please have your pets tested for heartworm, and be proactive with prevention! Canine prices range depending on type and amount desired.

Heartworm Prevention for Cats

A limited amount of heartworm prevention is available for cats. A heartworm test is not required for cats prior to purchasing heartworm prevention.

What’s the Difference Between Heartworms and Other Worms?

Heartworms are worms found in the blood vessels of the heart and lungs of dogs and cats (and other mammals). They are spread by mosquito bites, so in North Carolina, we worry about them all year round. When an infected mosquito bites, it injects microscopic heartworm larvae (infant stages) into your pet. These larvae grow and migrate through your pet’s tissues for 4-5 months, eventually finding their way to your pet’s heart and lungs, where they will live for 2-5 years as an adult worm. By this time the worms can be 5-6 inches long!

Large numbers of worms will cause the heart to enlarge and fail, causing death. Smaller numbers of worms may not cause any outward symptoms at all, but can cause problems over time with the heart and lungs, or in cats can cause sudden death. Treatment once the worms are present is expensive, lengthy, and not without risk.

Heartworm Prevention is the Best Approach

It’s much better is to prevent heartworm infection in the first place with heartworm preventative. This medication is given once a month to dogs and cats to kill the immature larvae before they have a chance to grow up. Dogs are tested for heartworm infection once a year.